This could one of the most exciting motherboard releases in a while and might truly bring the Pentium M to desktop computing.  How would the Pentium M perform with PCI Express graphics, dual channell DDR2 memory and natvie SATA support?  Below is the PR release and a photo!

AOpen Shows Pentium M Motherboard based on the Alviso Platform - Motherboards 2

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AOPEN UNVEILS NEW PENTIUM M MOTHERBOARD FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE, MULTIMEDIA DESKTOP COMPUTING

The Cool-running i915GMm-HFS Provides the Perfect Balance between High-Performance and Silent Operation

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 18, 2005 AOpen, an award-winning, global leader in PC component and systems design and manufacturing, today announced the newest addition to its comprehensive line of motherboard solutions the i915GMm-HFS. AOpen is the first manufacturer to develop a Pentium M motherboard for desktop environment making a high-performance, low noise desktop systems a reality. The new Pentium M- based i915GMm-HFS is ideal for building computers that require great computing power, efficient thermal design and virtually silent operation, such as Home Media Centers or mobile desktops.

AOpen’s i915GMm-HFS is a highly integrated, low-power and high-performance, long life motherboard designed for applications where power management is critical. The i915GMm-HFS can be installed with Intel’s full series Pentium M processor (400/533MHz FSB) and the power consumption is only a quarter of Intel LGA775 Pentium 4 processor.

With DDR333 and Dual Channel DDRII-533 architecture supported, AOpen’s i915GMm-HFS provides the best combination for memory module choices.

Dual Gigabit PCI LAN and PCI Express design provides high network bandwidth and can act as home media server. Combined with advanced Serial ATA-II 300M byte, double transmission rate than Serial ATA and RAID 0,1 date backup security, the i915GMm-HFS provides leading storage interface and hot plug function.

The new Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 900, integrated into the 915GM chipset, provides better visual quality, versatile display options and incredible 3D performance. With built-in DVI, which can be connected to an LCD monitor, YPbPr for HDTV and S-Video connectors, consumers can enjoy the best display quality besides conventional analog display. In addition, S/PDIF IN/OUT and Intel High Definition Audio 7.1 surround sound provide professional digital media and streaming music services. With the LAN/Storage/Video/Audio advantages, AOpen closely links i915GMm-HFS to Intel’s Digital Home and Microsoft Media Center concept making it the ideal multimedia motherboard solution.

“Home Theater and Media Center PC’s have gained quite a bit of interest over the past few months. AOpen is quite aware of this growing trend and that is why they have introduced the new i915GMm-HFS,” said Peggy Yao, product manager for the AOpen America motherboard division. “i915GMm-HFS is a high-performance solution for that delivers feature-rich multimedia capabilities. Coupled with efficient thermal design and virtually silent operation, this is a perfect board to build your next Media Center PC.”

The i915GMm-HFS Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) is $XXX.

For more information on the i915GMm-HFS, or AOpen’s full line of motherboard solutions, please visit www.aopen.com.

About AOpen

Headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, with AOpen America’s headquarters in San Jose, California, AOpen Inc. is the world’s largest total PC component solutions manufacturer and a member of an $18-billion technology group.

Leveraging more than 28 years of technology manufacturing experience and more than 1,000 Group patents, AOpen designs, manufactures and markets high-quality, state-of-the-art motherboards; housings; small-form-factor bare systems; VGA cards; white-box notebooks; optical drives; multimedia headsets and headphones; multimedia and network solutions; as well as numerous other PC component products sold through VARs to institutional, corporate, education and government customers, and via retailers to small business and end-user customers.